Sarah Burd-Sharps: Without Public Investment, the U.S. Will Fall Into Chaos

The Next American Economy project brought together 30 experts from various disciplines to envision tomorrow’s economic and political challenges and develop today’s solutions. Their assignment: be bold, and leave the conventional wisdom — and their own opinions — behind. In today’s video, Measure of America’s Sarah Burd-Sharps looks at the sweeping consequences of the government’s failure to invest in the future.

Sarah Burd-Sharps, Co-Director of Measure of America, speculates on the consequences of declining public investment in infrastructure, regulation, education, and more. With government abdicating its basic responsibilities, the U.S. will face increasing chaos — collapsing bridges, food contamination outbreaks, falling elevators, and unemployed teenagers. Burd-Sharps imagines a moderate political wing moved to act by the rising economic costs of under-investment.